Hosted By: Literary Escapism
January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010

I had a lot of fun participating in this one the past year, and while I’m hesitant to commit to 50 authors again, I know I have at least 50 new ones on my shelves, not to mention all the others on my wishlist. Can’t wait to get started!

Jen’s book talk is hosting this challenge that just started in November. It runs from November 1, 2009 to November 2, 2010. It’s pretty self explanatory, but the idea is to read a book where either the title or the author fits the letter of the months.

N
O
V
E
M
B
E
R

Double Cross by James Patterson
E
C
E
M
B
E
R

J
A
N
U
A
R
Y

F
E
B
R
U
A
R
Y

M
A
R
C
H

A
P
R
I
L

M
A
Y

J
U
N
E

J
U
L
Y

A
U
G
U
S
T

S
E
P
T
E
M
B
E
R

O
C
T
O
B
E
R

N
O
V
E
M
B
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R

Well, Ididn’t quite make it to the early finish date (two books left at that point), but I did make it before the end of the year. I’m still working on 999×2 and it’s slow to start but now that I can pretty much add all my books there, I should be good to go (hopefully). Can’t wait for the next round, already planning my categories.

I – TBR List

1. Mystic River by Dennis Lehan
2. You Know You’re a Writer When by Adair Lara
3. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4. Knit Two by Kate Jacobs
5. Love Letters of Great Men by John C. Kirkland
6. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
7. Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
8. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
9. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

II – 1,001 Books You Must Read

1. Watchmen by Alan Moore
2. Atonement by Ian McEwan
3. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
4. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
5. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
6. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
7. Aesop’s Fables by Aesopus
8. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
9. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence

III – Favorite Authors/Next in Series

1. C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton
2. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
3. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
4. Trunk Music by Michael Connelly
5. Love is a Many Trousered Thing by Louise Rennison
6. Stop in the Name of Pants by Louise Rennison
7. Step on a Crack by James Patterson
8. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
9. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

IV – Books Published in 2009

1. The Noticer by Andy Andrews
2. 8th Confession by James Patterson
3. Swimsuit by James Patterson
4. Run For Your Life by James Patterson
5. Fool by Christopher Moore
6. Twilight Director’s Notebook by Catherine Hardwicke
7. Mommywood by Tori Spelling
8. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
9. Take Your Shirt Off and Cry by Nancy Balbirer

V – Children/Young Adult

1. Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers by Louise Rennison
2. Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
3. The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide by Holly Black
4. The Witches by Roald Dahl
5. The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Seeing Stone by Holly Black
6. The Spiderwick Chronicles: Lucinda’s Secret by Holly Black
7. The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Ironwood Tree by Holly Black
8. Startled by His Furry Shorts by Louise Rennison
9. Spiderwick Chronicles: The Wrath of Mulgarath by Holly Black

VI -  Non-Fiction

1. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
2. The 1996 What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles
3. Maus by Art Spiegelman
4. Maus II by Art Spiegelman
5. If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
6. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
7. Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi
8. The Writer’s Idea Book by Jack Heffron
9. The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea Buchanan

VII – Alex Cross Novels

1. Pop Goes the Weasel
2. Roses are Red
3. Violets are Blue
4. Four Blind Mice
5. Big Bad Wolf
6. London Bridges
7. Mary Mary
8. Cross
9. Double Cross

VIII – First Time Authors

1. One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell
2. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
3. Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
4. Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
5. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
6. The Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner
7. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
8. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
9. Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center

IX – Made Into Movies

1. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
3. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
4. Sin City: The Hard Goodbye (Vol. 1) by Frank Miller
5. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
6. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
7. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
8. 300 by Frank Miller
9. 30 Days of Night by Steve Niles

Hosted By: Chick Loves Lit
August 1, 2009 – August 1, 2010

Another great challenge, one of my favorites because it involves reading series books. I’m late starting, but I’m going to be good and fair and start from today’s date and go until August, because I know I’ve read a lot of series this year and could easily finish this quickly if I went back through August.

The idea is to read 3 books in one series, 4 in another, and 5 in a third. They don’t have to be in order, or start to finish, or even a trilogy (for the 3).

Alex Cross Series (James Patterson)

1. Double Cross
2. Cross Country
3. Alex Cross’s Trial

Harry Bosch Series (Michael Connelly)

1. Angels Flight
2. A Darkness More Than Night
3. City of Bones
4. Lost Light

Stephanie Plum Series (Janet Evanovich)

1. Seven Up
2. Hard Eight
3. To the Nines
4. Ten Big Ones
5. Eleven on Top

Title: Double Cross
Author: James Patterson
Finished: November 5, 2009
Pages: 389
Published: 2007

I’m getting closer to finishing the Alex Cross series, or at least catching up. Each mystery is its own, and often times you can just pick one up and not need the back story too much.

In Double Cross, Alex finds himself hunted by two killers – one new and one extremely familiar. He’s also got a new love that brings him back into the mix. It seems like this book jumps in time some, Alex has been working at his practice for some time, not solving crimes but helping people through their issues. When he finds himself back at a crime scene with his detective girlfriend old memories start flooding back and he finds how much he really misses it.

I loved this mystery because at some times it was hard to determine which killer was doing what, or if there was a trick somewhere in there and I kept second guessing. I like Alex evolving, his children growing, and he’s starting to find what really matters after a change in his life.

*challenges: 999 challenge, 100+ challenge, series challenge season 3, james patterson challenge, fall into reading, countdown challenge, 345 reading challenge, monthly mixer mele

This is a new one, but sounded fun, quick and easy – hosted by Should be Reading.

You tell us the answers to 3 questions:

What are you currently reading? Double Cross by James Patterson and House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier

What did you recently finish? The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

What do you think you’ll read next? Cross County by James Patterson and Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (already started but haven’t read much in awhile)

 

I just completed three challenges, plus the years is quickly coming to a close and I have a lot left to finish up. Here’s a quick update on my challenges.

Current Challenges ending in 2010/2014:

• Project Fill in the Gaps (10/100) ends Apr 13, 14
• Books to Read Before I Die Challenge (0/20) ends Dec 31, 10
• Stephanie Plum Reading Challenge (2/15) ends Dec 31, 10
• Countdwn Challenge 2010 (5/55) ends Oct 10, 10
• James Patterson Challenge (5/10) ends Aug 15, 10
• Women’s Murder Club Challenge (0/9) ends Aug 15, 10
• Random Reading Challenge (1/12) ends July 31, 10
• Sookie Stackhouse Challenge (3/10) ends June 30, 10
• The Four Month Challenge (0/250 pts) ends Feb 28, 10
• What an Animal II Challenge (4/6) ends Feb 28, 10
• Everything Austen Challenge (1/6) ends Jan 10, 10

Current Challenges ending in 2009:

• Book Awards III Challenge (1/5) ends Dec 31, 09
• 999×2 Challenge (38/81) ends Dec 31, 09
• A Visit to Oz Challenge (2/5) ends Dec 31, 09
• 1% Well Read Challenge 2009 (7/10) ends Dec 31, 09
• Book vs Movie (18/20) ends Dec 31, 09
• What’s in a Name Challenge (5/6)  ends Dec 31, 09
• 2009 TBR Challenge (8/12 Alternatives 5/12) ends Dec 31, 09
• 2009 YA Challenge (6/12) ends Dec 31, 09
• Romance Reading Challenge (4/5) ends Dec 31, 09
• A-Z Challenge 2009 (19/26 authors and 24/26 books) ends Dec 31, 09
• Decades ‘09 Challenge (14/20) ends Dec. 31, 09
• Scott Westerfeld Mini-Challenge (1/2) ends Dec. 31, 09
• 100+ Book Challenge (122/100) ends Dec 31, 09
• 999 Challenge (80/81) ends Dec 31, 09
• Fall Into Reading 2009 (4/15) ends Dec 20
• Series Challenge Season 3 (13/15) ends Nov 30

Ongoing Challenges:

• 1,001 Books You Must Read – 66/1001
• EW’s New Classic Books – 14/100
• TBR Stack (Personal) – 9/132
• Operation Actually Read the Bible – 0/12 months
• Stephen King/Richard Bachman Challenge – 2/–

It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to complete a challenge, let along 3 back to back. I have so many just waiting for that last book, that I finally managed to cross a few off the list.

I did the Classics Snack – Read FOUR Classics, plus I’m going in for the bonus book.

1. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
3. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence 
4. Roxana by Daniel Defoe 
5. English Patient by Michael Odnaaje

Becky hosted the Daniel Defoe Min-Challenge. The mini-challenges were a lot of fun, and I hope to participate in more in the future.

1. Robinson Crusoe
2. Roxana

I went with the “Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big?” – which was 3-5 books. I was fully intending to read 5 but in the interest of time I just don’t think I will be able to finish any of my big ones before the 15th so I’m calling it good with 3.

1. The Host by Stephenie Meyer (619 pages)
2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck (601 pages)
3. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (973 pages)

These were all great challenges and I will most likely be participating in them all again next year in some way, shape or form.

October was a worse reading month than September. I think it will be hard in the next couple months to accomplish as much as I would really like and finish the challenges still pending.

Only two books read this month came from my shelves, the others were from the library. As much as I love checking books out, I need to stop the instant gratification of needing a book right away and having to read it right away.

Here’s to hoping November is an amazing reading month!

Books Read:

1. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich (TBR)
2. Free Stallion by Amber Tamblyn
3. Generation Kill by Evan Wright
4. Murder of King Tut by James Patterson
5. Roxana by Daniel Defoe
6. Bang Ditto by Amber Tamblyn
7. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Books Added:

1. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
2. Boxcar Children: Surprise Island (#2)
3. Boxcar Children: Snowflake Inn (#3 special)
4. Misery by Stephen King
5. Nancy Drew: Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
6. Nancy Drew: Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene
7. Nancy Drew: Haunted Showboat by Carolyn Keene
8. Nancy Drew: Secret of Mirror Bay by Carolyn Keene
9. Popped by Carol Higgins Clark
10. Visions in Death by J.D. Robb
11. Hitched by Carol Higgins Clark
12. Boxcar Children: Pizza Mystery
13. Nancy Drew: Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene
14. Boxcar Children: Mystery in the Snow
15. Boxcar Children: Bus Station Mystery
16. Boxcar Children: Lighthouse Mystery
17. Boxcar Children: Mystery Ranch
18. Pirates of the Caribbean: Junior Novelization
19. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen
20. The First Assistant by Clare Naylor & Mimi Hare
21. Rhett Butler’s People by Donald McCaig

Challenges Finished: Classics Challenge, Daniel Defoe Mini-Challenge, Chunkster Challenge
Challenges Joined: Books to Read Before I Die Challenge, The Four Month Challenge

Title: The English Patient
Author: Michael Ondaatje
Finished: October 25, 2009
Pages: 302
Published: 1992

I’ve been excited to read this book since before I watched the film, and it was much better and more rewarding than I imagined it would be.

The movie seems to focus more on the relationship prior to the accident, while the book focuses more on the man, his past and secrets, and the relationships he builds while dying. The jumps in time to reveal the histories of all characters were not a distraction but easy to follow.

I really loved the chemistry between all characters, the passion and power they each hold, and how quickly I was able to read the book. It was so entertaining that I flew through it quicker than I ever imagined I would, and in the end I was wishing for more.

I highly recommend it to everyone.

*challenges: A-Z challenge, 100+ challenge, romance reading challenge, book vs. movie, 1% well read challenge, project fill in the gaps, 999×2 challenge, book awards, classics challenge, fall into reading, tbr stack